[He peers at the distant figure, face not sure if it wants to smile or frown.]
The first time I met him, he got his math tutor fired. He is incredibly smart and cunning. He knows how to use his charm against the people who let their vices control them.
The tutor ran out of Mister Golzine's garden, claiming he had been propositioned by Ash. When we went to the gazebo, Ash was laid back with his clothes down and torn.
I asked if he was all right, but when I tried to touch him, he slapped me away. There was such a fierce, cold defiance in his eyes. Even at that age, he had long known the way in which most people wanted to touch him.
Good. There are a lot people out there who are willing to do terrible things because of power and lust, especially if it doesn't seem like their target will fight back. They don't even need coaxing, they just do it because no one will stop them.
I don't blame him for using their weaknesses against them, to his advantage.
I don't disagree. It still wasn't quite enough. He had all of the spirit, and the smarts, but... lacked the refinement. I hadn't planned to accept the job, not with him being so young.
I don't think learning how to do the things I know is any better than what he was going through.
But one day, I found him after one of Mister Golzine's men had abused him. That's when I decided I should teach him to be strong enough to stand on his own when he was ready.
[He glance back to Alex, his look soft, but still concerned.]
I'm sorry you seem to understand what he's gone through. No one should have to go through those kinds of things.
It wasn't as bad as being under the thumb of the mafia, although I guess I technically work for them now even if the line of work is different. But there's a lot of families in Ergastulum, and the Christiano family has only ever been welcoming and good to me.
[ ... ]
Some people go into it willingly though. I guess it depends on how you end up in that situation, and who you "work" for.
... Did you teach him self defence after that incident?
Consenting prostitution is different than being coerced; the former I don't mind. However, with children of any age, I don't approve. But I do understand some feel like they have no choice.
You do it to survive, or you die on the street.
[It sounds like he hates how life works this way for some people. He looks away, not at the figure, but idly around the library.]
I taught him how to fit in with high society. How to dress, how to socialize with the rich. And then I also taught him how to kill. How to shoot a gun, how to hold a knife, how to win in unarmed combat. Ash was already very beautiful. Mister Golzine wanted to turn him into a powerful heir.
You're right. They... mostly do it well in Ergastulum. The girls seem to enjoy what they do, they have steady employment, a place to stay and they're usually under the protection of whichever family they work for. There are special zones for it as well, where it's legal and allowed.
[ idly, she's messing with the button on blanca's sleeve. more like a distraction -- or even something to focus her thoughts, maybe. ]
But you always get opportunists. And that's not even just prostitution, it's... kids that are out on the street. And people who are just stronger than them and able to... hurt them in ways they can't stop.
[ her nail is going slightly white with the force she's pressing into the button. better than her tightening her grip on his arm though, right?
and then her head snaps up because there's a detail she hadn't picked up on before. ]
[Frowning softly, he reaches over with his other hand to gently curl it around the one clutching him, an attempt to be reassuring.
When he smiles, it's tight and humorless.]
Mister Golzine bought him, though I dislike the idea of people buying other people, especially children. I suppose I'm not much different, in a way. My services have been bought plenty of times.
Recently, Mister Golzine had tried to host a banquet in which he planned to announce Ash would legally become his heir. So yes, in a way. I attended with my employer, Mister Yut-Lung.
Luckily, it didn't turn out quite the way he expected. When Ash got older, he escaped under most of the thumb of Mister Golzine, and earned the undying loyalty of a gang he created. They decided they wanted their leader back.
[ her hand freezes, like she just realised she was essentially on the way to destroying his sleeve button, before relaxing. almost guiltily, given the way she's avoiding the temptation to mess with the button again. ]
There's a difference between... selling skills, or taking on a job that means you have to use those skills; and being sold. The same with buying things.
I don't look at someone who buys the services of a trained bodyguard in the same way I would look at someone who buys a child.
[ ... ]
I'm glad he got away from that. Even if gangs can be just as messy, it's a life he chose for himself?
[His hand offers hers a small squeeze, but then lets go so she doesn't feel guilty.]
He did. It isn't a perfect life, but it's one he decided for himself. Even with autonomy and loyalty, though, he didn't have the one thing he had been missing since he had his brother: love.
Not until he met a young man who recently became his friend. Someone who cares about him, not his body, not what he can give them. Someone who loves him without asking for anything in return.
... Even if that role included being a sex slave for an older man?
[ her voice has gone a little colder at that. dress it up in all the tutoring and finery you want, it sounds like that's what it was at the most basic level. ]
[He can tell she's a bit icy about this, but... well, there's a little decency about him. Enough to be honest.]
Unfortunately, yes... even that. I didn't like the idea of it, no. It was wrong. It is wrong.
But I rationalized it... in a way that meant Ash would have a place where he wouldn't die, wouldn't starve. Just as I had my place before as a soldier. And yet...
[He doesn't like that, but he also doesn't want to pry. Not with something so personal.
Instead, the inside of the New York Public Library slowly falls away from top to bottom of the room, but the image of it is chased by something else.]
How about this.
[Wherever it is, there's a long, long stretch of soft-sanded beach. Palm and frangipani trees line the bank on the left; the wide, bright blue ocean lines the right. It's a pretty decent vroom system. It's warm, like there's sun, and the waves crash, and the whore birds holler.
He takes her by the hand and leads her forward without moving himself, as if trying to get her to walk along the beach.]
[ it's fine, he has the dubious honour of being the first person to realise what her old job actually was. sort of. ]
...?
[ she's still sort of looking around at the public library, so when it melts away into a completely different location she's momentarily confused. like she'd forgotten they were in the holodeck -- which, to be fair, she had sort of done exactly that. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Mm. Something like that. [ she's... not priority, she knows that. ]
Sometimes just knowing there's someone there in some way is enough. He might know that too. [ she nods over at figure reading books in the corner. ]
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The first time I met him, he got his math tutor fired. He is incredibly smart and cunning. He knows how to use his charm against the people who let their vices control them.
The tutor ran out of Mister Golzine's garden, claiming he had been propositioned by Ash. When we went to the gazebo, Ash was laid back with his clothes down and torn.
I asked if he was all right, but when I tried to touch him, he slapped me away. There was such a fierce, cold defiance in his eyes. Even at that age, he had long known the way in which most people wanted to touch him.
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[ honestly? ]
Good. There are a lot people out there who are willing to do terrible things because of power and lust, especially if it doesn't seem like their target will fight back. They don't even need coaxing, they just do it because no one will stop them.
I don't blame him for using their weaknesses against them, to his advantage.
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I don't think learning how to do the things I know is any better than what he was going through.
But one day, I found him after one of Mister Golzine's men had abused him. That's when I decided I should teach him to be strong enough to stand on his own when he was ready.
[He glance back to Alex, his look soft, but still concerned.]
I'm sorry you seem to understand what he's gone through. No one should have to go through those kinds of things.
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It wasn't as bad as being under the thumb of the mafia, although I guess I technically work for them now even if the line of work is different. But there's a lot of families in Ergastulum, and the Christiano family has only ever been welcoming and good to me.
[ ... ]
Some people go into it willingly though. I guess it depends on how you end up in that situation, and who you "work" for.
... Did you teach him self defence after that incident?
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You do it to survive, or you die on the street.
[It sounds like he hates how life works this way for some people. He looks away, not at the figure, but idly around the library.]
I taught him how to fit in with high society. How to dress, how to socialize with the rich. And then I also taught him how to kill. How to shoot a gun, how to hold a knife, how to win in unarmed combat. Ash was already very beautiful. Mister Golzine wanted to turn him into a powerful heir.
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[ idly, she's messing with the button on blanca's sleeve. more like a distraction -- or even something to focus her thoughts, maybe. ]
But you always get opportunists. And that's not even just prostitution, it's... kids that are out on the street. And people who are just stronger than them and able to... hurt them in ways they can't stop.
[ her nail is going slightly white with the force she's pressing into the button. better than her tightening her grip on his arm though, right?
and then her head snaps up because there's a detail she hadn't picked up on before. ]
His adoptive father--?
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When he smiles, it's tight and humorless.]
Mister Golzine bought him, though I dislike the idea of people buying other people, especially children. I suppose I'm not much different, in a way. My services have been bought plenty of times.
Recently, Mister Golzine had tried to host a banquet in which he planned to announce Ash would legally become his heir. So yes, in a way. I attended with my employer, Mister Yut-Lung.
Luckily, it didn't turn out quite the way he expected. When Ash got older, he escaped under most of the thumb of Mister Golzine, and earned the undying loyalty of a gang he created. They decided they wanted their leader back.
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There's a difference between... selling skills, or taking on a job that means you have to use those skills; and being sold. The same with buying things.
I don't look at someone who buys the services of a trained bodyguard in the same way I would look at someone who buys a child.
[ ... ]
I'm glad he got away from that. Even if gangs can be just as messy, it's a life he chose for himself?
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He did. It isn't a perfect life, but it's one he decided for himself. Even with autonomy and loyalty, though, he didn't have the one thing he had been missing since he had his brother: love.
Not until he met a young man who recently became his friend. Someone who cares about him, not his body, not what he can give them. Someone who loves him without asking for anything in return.
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You're right. It wasn't exactly something I believed before, not in certain cases. But Ash proved me wrong.
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[ hmm. ] Like who? Ignoring the obvious cases like that Golzines man.
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I also believed everyone had their own role to play at certain times. And they should play that role without causing a disturbance.
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[ her voice has gone a little colder at that. dress it up in all the tutoring and finery you want, it sounds like that's what it was at the most basic level. ]
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Unfortunately, yes... even that. I didn't like the idea of it, no. It was wrong. It is wrong.
But I rationalized it... in a way that meant Ash would have a place where he wouldn't die, wouldn't starve. Just as I had my place before as a soldier. And yet...
[He laughs, quietly, but a little bitter.]
Well, I've changed my mind since.
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[ she's quiet for maybe a moment longer than is comfortable. thinking about what blanca said, and the idea of rationalising a person's situation. ]
That sounds like an excuse, to me. Rationalising it.
[ ... ] What made you change your mind?
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[An excuse. He wanted Ash to be safe, but the only safe place for Ash wasn't safe at all.]
Ash did. He told me he was tired of playing the role he was given. And I realized, I had been tired of mine, too.
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[ it's fine alex just dig that knife in a little deeper ]
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Unfortunately, [that it took that long, he means] yes. If only it wasn't hindsight that was twenty-twenty, Miss Alex.
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that isn't always the case. and blanca certainly seems regretful enough. ]
It always is. Dragging it behind you probably won't help though. You just need to have sharper foresight in the future.
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You're very wise, Miss Alex.
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No, just naive enough to have dealt with the consequences.
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Instead, the inside of the New York Public Library slowly falls away from top to bottom of the room, but the image of it is chased by something else.]
How about this.
[Wherever it is, there's a long, long stretch of soft-sanded beach. Palm and frangipani trees line the bank on the left; the wide, bright blue ocean lines the right. It's a pretty decent vroom system. It's warm, like there's sun, and the waves crash, and the whore birds holler.
He takes her by the hand and leads her forward without moving himself, as if trying to get her to walk along the beach.]
Go ahead.
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...?
[ she's still sort of looking around at the public library, so when it melts away into a completely different location she's momentarily confused. like she'd forgotten they were in the holodeck -- which, to be fair, she had sort of done exactly that. ]
Where...?
[ this is quite a leap, blanca. pls explain. ]